BJ's Wholesale Club officials plan to build in Chambersburg

Chambersburg borough council is scheduled to review plans on Monday for a proposed BJ's Wholesale Club on Gateway Avenue.

The borough's planning and zoning commission gave its blessing on Tuesday.

Construction is estimated to begin in October, according to a representative from Kinsley Construction of York.

Headquartered in Massachusetts, BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. is a leading operator of warehouse clubs on the East Coast and carries brand-name and private-label food and general merchandise.

Similar to Sam's Club and Costco, the company currently has about 200 locations in 15 states, with the nearest locations in Camp Hill and York. BJ's employs about 24,000 people, according to its website.

In Chambersburg, the store would anchor a new shopping center on a 20-acre site between Bruster's Ice Cream and the Jennings dealership.

Borough council had approved plans for a shopping center there in 2008, but at the time, the plans did not identify any tenants.

Developers made some slight revisions to the plans to accommodate BJ's, but the shopping center plans still include a separate smaller retail building, as well as two restaurants and two other retail buildings along Gateway Avenue. Those tenants have yet to be identified.

"In essence, only the first phase (BJ's) will be constructed," said borough land use and development director Phil Wolgemuth. "Obviously in the future, much like the other shopping center developments in the borough, there would be potential for other retail and restaurant uses on the site."

BJ's also plans to build gas pumps at the shopping center. The wholesale club offers gas at more than 100 of its locations.

The store itself would be about 88,000 square feet, slightly larger than the nearby Giant at Chambersburg Crossing Shopping Center, but smaller than Target.

The planning commission tacked on a recommendation that plans include a concrete "pork chop" in one of the driveways to help deter traffic from entering the adjoining residential community on Parkwood Drive.

Traffic from the shopping center was one of the major concerns among neighboring residents when the plans were first reviewed in 2008 and again on Tuesday.

The main driveway to the Chambersburg Village Shopping Center will have a traffic signal on Gateway Avenue.